In 2021 and 2022 we conducted an extensive comparative analysis of FTSE 100 and S&P 100 organizations, examining their performance over a decade.
In all the data we found something fascinating.
16 paired organizations emerged. Each pair were virtually identical in every way, yet in each case, one continually outperformed whilst the other was… just OK. Not bad enough to cause alarm, but there was no denying the constant struggle.
The difference was so pronounced, that over the decade, the outperformer returned 4.8x as much value to shareholders as its laggard neighbor.
The change in stock price of all companies shown as a composite of all Unstoppables and all languishers. Exact company names are obscured to observe the NDAs under which our extensive executive interviews were conducted (more details below).
Importantly, the outperformer didn’t just go from strength to strength. But when times got tough, they turned things around more than twice as fast. (On average, in two years versus five years!)
We called the outperformers The Unstoppables and we had to know how they did it. So, we got investigating…
Our sources included:
More than 100 executive interviews with people in C-suite roles who worked at these companies during the decade
Earnings call transcripts
Annual reports
Public filings
Podcasts, articles, and other third-party interviews
We used AI (IBM’s Watson) and machine learning to help sift through all the intel.
And we found that without fail every single Unstoppable had six particular attributes and two enablers that the laggards did not.
We’re not gatekeeping, so here they are!
Varied Viewpoints: this is about ensuring you don’t fall into the trap of thinking you know everything because you hire from the right school/s, have people who are highly experienced in the industry, etc. However you do it, you need to be exposed to new perspectives. Hire it, import it, take excursions for it. But get it.
Tools not Rules: if you really want to be unstoppable, train and equip employees with a common set of tools, make sure they understand the mission, and then get out of their way. Rules on the other hand, slow you down and breed stagnation.
Executive Connectivity: this one is simple. The most powerful people in the company need to continually spend time on the frontline with customers of all shapes and sizes. Not your VIPs. And not doing staged store visits. They need the gory stuff.
The Customer V The Company: it might seem obvious, but there’s no point spending time on design thinking and whatnot if you don’t ultimately give your customers what they want. Not what you want, and now how you want. What they want. How they want it.
Strategic Speculation: if you’re going to be Unstoppable you need to have a POV about where the world is going and be clear on your role in it. Then place some bets.
Active Abstinence: when shiny opportunities show up along the way, Unstoppables have both a strong enough sense of who they are and what they’re doing that they can evaluate the opportunities, and then the conviction to ignore those that don’t fit.
And the enablers? Get in touch and we’ll give you really specific examples of how they supercharge your efforts.